The legend just keeps growing. Detroit native Eric Haase hit a game-tying grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to spur the Tigers to a 6-5 win over the Twins Tuesday night, which is a movie-made moment itself.
This would be a good time to remind you that Haase is a 28-year-old rookie. That he was DFA'd by the Indians in 2019 and traded for cash to the Tigers, who DFA'd him again in 2020. That he only stuck with Detroit because he went unclaimed on waivers. This would be a good time to remind you that Haase was dropped him off by his mom at Comerica Park for his first game in the majors this season.
Now he's tied for third among big-league catchers with 17 homers. Now he ranks first in slugging (.552) and second in OPS (.841) among those with at least 200 plate appearances. A comprehensive list of big-league hitters with more homers than Haase since he belted his first two of the season -- he's got a knack for this -- on May 17: Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Jose Altuve, Matt Olson, Joey Gallo. That's it. That's the list.
It had been a long night for Haase when he came to the plate in the ninth inning Tuesday night: 0-3, two strikeouts. Fitting. He whiffed on his first three chances in the majors, not that he ever had much to hit. But he got a hold of a fastball from Twins closer Hansel Robles and drove it over the right field fence for his first career grand slam, marking the first time in big-league history that opposing catchers hit grand slams in the same game after Mitch Garver popped one in the first. The legend grows some more.
"When the situation presented itself later in the game, if I was worried about what I did before it probably would have gone the other way," said Haase. "But that’s one of the things about baseball. We were able to buckle down, keep the game within striking distance and ultimately that opportunity came for us later in the game."
Haase's first real opportunity came this season with the Tigers. The club needed help behind the plate due to injuries. Haase was on the road with Triple-A Toledo when he got the call, so he flew directly from Indianapolis to Detroit. He had bigger worries than what he had done here before. His truck was back in Toledo and his wife was working when he landed. He had to be at Comerica Park in a matter of hours.
"My mom lives right around the corner, so she dropped me off at the ballpark," Haase said.
They used to make the same trip when Haase was just a fan, just a Little Leaguer from Dearborn. He grew up loving Lance Parrish because his family loved Lance Parrish, the All-Star catcher who wore No. 13 for 10 years in Detroit. His mom said goodbye -- did she pack him a snack? -- and Haase pulled on No. 13 and went 2-4 in a win over the Royals. Three games later, he smacked two homers in a win over the Mariners, his first of four multi-homer games this season. Only Kyle Schwarber has more.
Haase has always had power. He had power at Divine Child High where he was named Michigan's Mr. Baseball in 2011, and he had power as he climbed the ranks with the Indians as a seventh-round pick. Haase hit 74 homers between Double-A and Triple-A from 2017-19, but it wasn't enough to get more than a couple September call-ups to Cleveland. Same story last year with Detroit. New story this year, with several more chapters to come.
"I don’t really look at it like that," Haase said earlier this month. "Every day that I have here I’m extremely blessed to do it, especially for my hometown. Every time I get to put this uniform on I don’t take it for granted. Just as quickly as you can be playing well, you can get humbled in a hurry. That’s happened to me over and over in my career, so I'm trying to stay on task and grind out each day."
AL Rookie of the Year is probably still Adolis' Garcia's award to lose. If not his, then Akil Baddoo's. But don't count out Haase, who now ranks first among big-league rookies with at least 200 plate appearances in slugging and OPS, second in homers, and, for the analytics crowd, third in wRC+. He's also spent several games in left field, a position he'd never played prior to this season. A.J. Hinch often calls him an underrated athlete.
With due respect to the Indians, Haase was never meant to play in Cleveland. And Cleveland never game him much of a chance. But that's one of those things about baseball. Haase kept the majors within striking distance, and now he's making his name where he's always belonged.